Reviews

A jam-packed weekend opened the 40th edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, with inspiring performances by luminaries and rising stars such as pianists Chucho Valdés and Brad Mehldau, and saxophonist Melissa Aldana (see JazzTimes review here). With six more days ahead, July 1—Canada Day—was a microcosm of what was to come, with music for every palate: … Read More

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Live Review: 2019 Montreal Jazz Festival, Week 2

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Blue Note All-Stars: Our Point of View (Blue Note)

Every so often the current powers that be at Blue Note gather several marquee artists, not all of them necessarily on the label’s roster, put them in a studio together and let them loose with the intent of bowing to the company’s storied history. In 2009 it was the Blue Note 7, a one-shot that … Read More

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The Co-Op: The Co-Op (Brown Brothers)

The story seems implausible, but label head Jake Cohn swears it’s true: In 2007 he hired Wycliffe Gordon, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and drummer Kendrick Scott to back a Swedish singer and harpist named Malin Johansson, who performed under the name Blue Utopia, for a gig at a club in New York. (There’s no trace of … Read More

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Kendrick Scott Oracle: We Are the Drum

We Are the Drum would be worth its sticker price just for Lizz Wright sigh-singing the beautiful, melodically off-kilter ballad “This Song in Me.” But the third album by drummer Kendrick Scott’s quintet Oracle has 10 more lovely tracks, each built with a delicacy that imbues even the few uptempo tunes with gentleness. “Synchrony,” for … Read More

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Walter Smith III: Still Casual

Tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III assembles a stellar cast of collaborators here, all of whom he has played with in various constellations: Taylor Eigsti (piano), Matthew Stevens (guitar), Harish Raghavan (bass), Kendrick Scott (drums) and guest Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), who appears on three tracks. Focused on composition, the album consists of 10 originals written with … Read More

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